786 of 826 people found the following review helpful:
IF YOUR HAVING A HARD TIME CHOOSING PIXTER OR LEAPSTER....
Okay I thought I was doing SO great. I found the color pixter in a store and bought it for my 6 and 5 year old. I bought all the color cartridges also. I thought I was done xmas shopping. Then yesterday at the store. What do I see but the Leapster. I almost felt ill. I didn't know what to do. So I went home and opened the pixter and put my batteries in and started...
946 of 961 people found the following review helpful:
New, Old or LMax Leapster
So a few people have asked which one to purchase and we were wondering the same. I actually purchased both and called Leapfrog to get as much information as possible to make a good decision. In short you probably couldnt go wrong no matter which way you went.
LMax: I didnt buy the LMax, but the rep at Leapfrog said the only difference with the LMax is that...
This review is from: LeapFrog® Leapster® Learning Game System - Green (Toy)
So a few people have asked which one to purchase and we were wondering the same. I actually purchased both and called Leapfrog to get as much information as possible to make a good decision. In short you probably couldnt go wrong no matter which way you went.
LMax: I didnt buy the LMax, but the rep at Leapfrog said the only difference with the LMax is that it can plug into a TV for dual screen gaming (with LMax titles). I did not care about this functionality since I have 2 kids and didnt want them fighting over who got to use the TV. Plus I cant imagine the graphics looking very good on a TV. You can use Leapster titles on the LMax and LMax titles on the Leapster (so the number of titles are the same).
Old Leapster: This one is the larger version that more of a "triangular" shape. The Leapfrog rep said the internal components are the same, as the new one. The differences here are; Larger size, Heavier, Larger Screen and more built in games. The Larger Screen and more built in games are nice. The additional internal games are matching letters/numbers, some shape games, and some reward system for points earned in those other games. The pen is also slightly larger. The battery compartment is vastly different on both so beware of rechargable battery pack that you purcahse. Here are the stats:
Weight: 14.5 oz
Width: 7 5/8" (largest part) 4 1/2" approx (shortest part)
Height: 5 1/8" (largest part)
Thickness: 1 3/4" (largest part)
(this is hard to measure since its more tiangular shaped)
Screen Width: 2 3/4"
Screen Height: 2 3/4"
New Leapster: This is the more "square" leapster. It is much smaller but so is the screen. There are less internal games (see the additional ones that are excluded above). There is also a new internal activity but its more of a commercial with other games and characters in those games (so mostly useless). The thumbpad looks like it might be easier for small children since its more of a " + " shaped pad with more unique up, down, side action. The old one has more of a circular thumbpad so I might see smaller children hitting up direction as well. Because the shape is smaller theres more room when you put this one in the Leapster case (you probably could use the case with a game cartridge still in the Leapster which a previous reviewer said you cannot do with the older large leapster. Here are the dimensions:
Weight: 10.9 oz
Width: 6 3/8" (largest part)
Height: 4 3/8" (largest part)
Thickness: 1 3/4" (largest part)
Screen Width: 2 1/4" (approx)
Screen Height: 2 1/4" (approx)
Ok thats probably more information than anyone wants to know but you're on your own on the choice. We are planning on giving this to our children on Christmas but right now I think we are leaning toward the smaller one (as it will probably be easier for our daughter and her small hands) - but this opinion could change before Christmas.
Good Luck - and Merry Christmas (or other celebrated holiday).
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Okay I thought I was doing SO great. I found the color pixter in a store and bought it for my 6 and 5 year old. I bought all the color cartridges also. I thought I was done xmas shopping. Then yesterday at the store. What do I see but the Leapster. I almost felt ill. I didn't know what to do. So I went home and opened the pixter and put my batteries in and started to play. But let me tell you that toy is in that box so not even houdini himself could get it out unless he has a screwdriver. Yeap you need a screwdriver. ugh. First off the directions aren't that great. I was playing and trying to figure out the tool bar. Kinda hard. Then when I was trying to put clothes on Barbie they would land on her head and I would try to bring them down and the kept adding the same dress over and over onto the screen. I'm a smart women and I had a real hard time with this stuff. Then I was trying to do other things and theres NO education value at all to this. Expect if you like to doodle and draw. So off I went to buy leapster. I was thrilled I opened the box. NO SCREWS. It came right out. it turned on and its having me count, do my abc's learning money (spongebob cartridge) I thought I was going to have a hard time choosing. No way leapster is my gift to the kids. They will love it. There are more cartridges in color, like Dora and a baseball one and how to write. Leap frog explains everything you need to do. It has an AC adaptor if you want to buy one. You can put headphones in. The screen has adjustment. Pixter does not and its too light. Hard to see the object. Okay so if you hawing and hemming let my goof be your blessing! Its great. The only thing is that it says up to age 8. I really hope they make cartridges pass this age. Because I'm tired of buying leap baby, leap preschool, leap pad, leap pad plus writing. We need something to go with our child for a while. Please let it be this its so much more educational then a game boy! Thank you leapfrog you never disappoint. Back tommorow I go to return pixter and to find more leapster cartridges!!!!! Signed the leapster addict! j/k :) Merry shopping to ya all!
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My children ages three and four already own just about every Leap Frog toy out there. I decided to purchase the Leapster for Christmas, because they have started to get into video and computer gaming and also enjoy their Leap Pad very much. I test ran the Leapster yesterday and I was really impressed. The color monitor turned out bigger than expected and the graphics are great. Everything is easily accessible thanks to the touch screen. The whole concept behind the product is definitely very similar to all the other Leap Frog items. The same voices and characters as in the Leap Pad books are used. Overall, the system is more than worth the money. I already ordered additional cartridges (Dora, Kindergarten) and can't wait until more will be available. Happy Holidays!
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I bought my leapster last Christmas and my kids have loved it almost too much. It is constantly being played with. After so much use I wasn't surprised when it started to have a few gliches after 6-7 months of such heavy use, but I decided to call Leapfrog and see if there was anything I could do. He told me to take the cartridges and to dip a Qtip in achohol (I used a table knife covered with a rag dipped in rubbing achohol) and clean the inside of the cartridges, then put it in and out of the leapster. I cleaned my cartides and it has worked perfectly since. The collection of dust inside just needs to be cleaned out and then it worked like new again.
I have all the cartridges and my kids favorites are: First Grade and Kindergarten (These are just plain fun to all my kids from PreK to 5th grade - they like the arcade style and the race car driving that is rewards to learning.) My girl who loves drawing plays Mr. Pencil Drawing program a ton, and my Preschoolers favorite is the Disney princess because she is obsessed with Princesses, and of course the Letter Factory. She is starting to read in Preschool and I give total credit to the Letter Factory and Word factory games. We just got The Incredibles and Junie B cartidges and of those 2 of course The Incredibles is winning and is being played a ton (but what do you expect with the movie as cool as it is :) Mrs. Stretch does a Spelling game Dash does place value like if you have 2354, where does the 3 go, and the other 2 do 2 digit math and teach times tables. Then you are given key cards as you do the game. The family works cooperatively getting through the maze as you get more key cards. I really like the leapster, and my favorite thing is that I can say to my kids its your night with the leapster the sooner you get in bed the sooner you get to play, and they will climb in bed at 7:00 and play till 8:30-9 until I say lights out and make them turn it off. And they all keep track of whose night it is to play. I also love that my little girl is really getting good control of the pencil (hand eye cordination) and that she is just barely 4 and is already putting words together. I love it.
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When I first heard about this toy, I thought it would be another 'educational' toy designed for yuppie parents to think they're doing the best by their kids. I admit it. I was wrong. I saw a commercial for it, and liked what I saw. I read reviews here on Amazon, still skeptical, but I bought it anyway. I couldn't even wait for Christmas. I gave it to my five-year-old son the day I bought it. Wow. He loved it. It was exactly what I've been looking for - an educational handheld that involves learning instead of violent video games (I'm a no-commercial TV, limited movies and media mom). Best of all, he was able to figure out how to use it himself without needing my help at all. This may seem a small thing, but any parent who has had a kid ask how to do something when driving or cooking dinner understands the beauty of this concept. Great screen, graphics, etc. Volume control and headphone inputs (yahoo!). Even a great pause button. After trying to find great educational games for the Game Boy Advance, it's nice to see a product that fits our household's needs and values.
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I agree with most but with one caveat.
My 4 year old loves this toy. And my 7 and 8 year olds often steal it from her! It is a lot of fun and the interaction with the pen/stylus is a plus. It was purchased instead of Pixter because we felt that game, while great, was limited to more games then education. There are plenty of games on the Leapster and it has some educational value as well.
Here is my one gripe. After 8 weeks my daughter had some frustration with the stylus. She would tap the screen to do an activity and some parts of the screen didn't register. Talk about an angry kid - one time she was crying alone in her room because she was taping what she thought was the right answer and it wasn't responding. I re-calibrated the stylus using the routine in the user manual and I couldnt' even finish that process. I called Tech support and they said I probably had dead pixels on various parts of the screen. Well - there is only a 90 day warrantee on this thing so use it a lot at first to make sure. And tech support said I could ship it back "AT MY EXPENSE" - that upset me. The tech support rep even suggested I return it to the store "that would be better" he said. When I complained about the cost of returning or the short warrantee he said "its fully disclosed on our website." [...]
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41 of 41 people found the following review helpful:
A Must Have!, January 29, 2004
By A Customer
Durability:Fun:Educational:
We purchased a Leapster for my 5 year old son for Christmas - he desparately wanted a game boy, but we felt this had a better educational value! What a great toy! Although priced high - has definately been worth it. My 5 and 4 four year olds both love playing with it. It was the true hit of Christmas. Both of my boys are able to play all the games and have begun spelling, reading, counting, figuring out money and many other activities. We purchased the following games to go with it - Dora, SpongeBob, Kindergarten and the 1st grade cartridge. Each cartridge offers different activities and exciting ways to learn while playing games. True to the Leap Frog system - the company is already offering two new cartridges and now a carrying case - we will be buying all of these as soon as available. This is a great alternative to a game boy - learn and play at the same time. The graphics are excellent, the screen has a plastic cover that snaps over it to keep it clean. The directions are given in each activity very clearly and at any time the child can ask for a hint to help them along if they get stuck. My kids have been playing with this non-stop for over a month and I haven't needed to replace the batteries yet. There is a jack for an A/C adapter if necesssary and a headphone outlet. We now use this toy in doctor's offices, restaurants and anywhere else I need my kids to sit quietly. They love it! And I must confess I find myself playing the games sometimes too. I think it is great that my 4 year old is now spelling simple words and my five year old came to me to explain how to count money! Thanks Leapster! I highly recommend!
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First Impressions ***** Good Build Quality--looks and feels rugid w/great screen protector ***** MUCH better screen than I imagined possible ***** Loud, clear speaker ***** Responsive Interface *** Mediocre Ergonomics?--directional button-pad position not the best for little hands to quickly find, but should be fine for slower, more thoughtful work <this isn't a button masher anyway> ????? Software <get back to ya' on that>
Just gave one to my nephew for his birthday(obviously didn't buy it here thanks to the NY premiere--grumble), and he loves it.
Leepfrog must be losing money on these! I'd expect the screen alone to cost more than I paid. Compared to PocketPCs and gameboys, the screen is massive--Looks like 4"x4". It's well lit w/decent color and resolution. Only viewed indoors (it was getting dark out) so will report back on daylight use.
My 5 year old nephew found the power button and volume immediately, and was thrilled that the thing just took him by the hand and 'told' him what to do next. Very cool...
Only annoyance so far is the battery compartment--Requires a screw driver to open. Guess they want to move those recharge base stations, which for 20-30 bucks will be worth every penny(i'm sure this bad-boy is gonna eat batteries like tic tacs).
If LeapFrog put as much love(ok, effort) into the software and they did the hardware, this thing is gonna totally rock the rug rats. My nephew's in K4 and his sister's in 1st grade--I'll update soon with their takes on it(software).
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This review is from: LeapFrog® Leapster® Learning Game System - Green (Toy)
Our first son is just entering kindergarten this year. His Leapster, purchased 2 years ago in 2004, was absolutely WONDERFUL. But as our second son has come along and requested the same item I am very disgusted with the product. The original Leapsters did NOT include an area for advertisements. There were the following activities, which both boys thoroughly enjoyed; "Rabbit River" Alphabet recognition, Number recognition, Spelling, Basic Math (Addition, Subtraction, Multiplication and Division); "The Chicken Coop" Alphabet recognition, Number recognition, Memorization, Color recognition, Shape recognition; "The Color Coral" for artistic creativity; "The Shape Shop" Shape building (placing shapes in an area to create pictures provided with or without shape borders), Plus a "Birdy Bonanza" where the kids get a special treat once they have collected "25 seeds." NOW, the only items included are "Rabbit River", "The Color Coral", and one little thing that I'm absolutely ANNOYED with. Ingeniusly they have added marketing to the Leapster to look like an option for playing and learning. It is actually an option that was not previously on the Leapster and is completely infuriating. This is where they give a little advertisement of each of the currently available Leapster cartridges. To me this is just plain low. To take a young child's toy and subject them to this advertisement is uncouth. I for one am completely outraged but cannot do more than write this and write the company, especially now that my son is completely attached to his NEW Leapster and it's differeing color from his brother's.
I do not appreciate Leap Frog making sure that our young children are taught not just their ABCs but how the adult world around them opperates with advertisements.
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We purchased this Leapster as a gift for my 3 year old daughter, not sure if she would really be able to use it yet or not. She immediately became hooked, and we felt it was a great learning tool. The game actually kept her mind busy with challenges at different levels. She especially loved the "Shape Shop" and other matching games. Things were going great. And then the problems started .... the screen would not respond to the pen in one place after another. Leapfrog customer service would walk us through the recalibration process, just to have it "uncalibrate" a day or two later. My daughter became very frustrated each time we would try to play the game, and we finally ended up getting approved for a replacement Leapster. We received the replacement from Leapfrog after paying to ship them back the original toy, not what I would expect after paying $80 + $50 in extra software. When the 2nd Leapster arrived, my daughter was overjoyed to have her favorite toy back! And then, the next day the same problems started again. The replacement Leapster took less than 24 hours to completely lose response to the stylus. To put it mildly, we are less than overjoyed. A LOT less than happy. My daughter was in tears after the 2nd Leapster stopped working, and she is not a child that is prone to crying. Better yet - it broke at the *beginning* of a 4 hour car trip, making for a lovely drive. We are now waiting for our 3rd Leapster, hopefully the 3rd try will be a charm. Especially since we just bought six software titles, a carrying case, and the recharging station so that we would have it for our trip. And it's no picnic for my daughter having excitement turn into tears over and over again. In the end, it's a great product if they could just work out the bugs! Huge thumbs down for quality.
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